Back to the Beach: A Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys Reader - Softcover

Kingsley Abbott is a freelance music writer who regularly contributes to Record Collector, Mojo and other publications. He is also an acclaimed author of several other music books.

Longtime Beach Boys fan Abbott collects more than two dozen of the best articles written on the group during the past three decades. Although the band is best known for its early '60s paeans to surfing and hot rods, that period gets scant coverage. Most contributions focus instead on the later '60s, when, under the direction of Brian Wilson, the group recorded the critically acclaimed Pet Sounds and the legendary, incompletely released Smile. Soon thereafter, Brian succumbed to drugs and mental problems, but the band continued to record, erratically, during a continuing denouement that is also covered here. Recently, Brian has had something of a creative resurgence, launching a solo career that is documented in the book's final selections. So there isn't much here for those who view the Beach Boys solely as an oldies band extolling the Southern California lifestyle. Fans who share Paul McCartney's assessment--he said Pet Sounds inspired the Beatles to record Sgt. Pepper--should, however, be enthralled. Gordon Flagg